The old Dennis Lehane is back. Thank goodness SINCE WE FELL is not another of his historical mafia books. Looks like he’s done with those.

But SINCE WE FELL doesn’t begin like one of Lehane’s older novels. The first half of this book is a study of Rachel, the main character. It does not grip the reader almost immediately, as you might have expected of Lehane before his mafia books.

Instead, we learn of Rachel’s discontent with her mother, who refuses to tell Rachel who her father is/was. Eventually, Rachel looks for him on her own. This leads to her initial meeting with Brian, a supposed private detective, who refuses to take her money for a job he knows he can’t do.

We also learn a lot more about Rachel, maybe more than we need to know sometimes. For various reasons, though, she is frequently afflicted with panic attacks. They disrupt her life so much that she becomes almost totally housebound.

The second half of SINCE WE FELL is Lehane as we used to expect. Now we come to know Brian better. Is he all that he seems? Who is he, really?

There’s more plot to the second half. But the character study in the first half is what makes the book more than a plot-driven thriller.

I always find it interesting to read the reviews of a book after I've read it. And that doesn't disappoint in this case. I agree with some of the constructive criticism...starts out a bit slow, ends rather quickly, hard to talk about with out spoiling the story. All I know is that the backstory that starts at the beginning had me hooked early on. Made me think it was going to be a different kind of book than how it turned out. I like this author's writing, I couldn't wait to finish it, and yes maybe it was a bit rushed in the end. But I think it had to kind of be that way. Did it leave some unanswered questions? yes maybe however its a story!!! you have to know its not going to end up with everything neatly packaged. Definitely a good read!